New testbed enables the next step in green battery research
Research on graphene composites in batteries is taking a big step forward. Researchers at Mid Sweden University, together with the companies UMV Coating Systems and Mondi Dynäs, have developed a test bed that makes it possible to go from lab research to the development of demos and pilot production.
"Thanks to the testbed, we can produce enough material to make full-scale demonstrators and thus take the next step in the development and research of batteries based on the environmentally sustainable materials graphene and cellulose," says Nicklas Blomquist. project manager, researcher and associate senior lecturer at Mid Sweden University.
In materials research, there are many steps to take between the tests made in a lab by researchers to applying the research results into a large-scale production of products for a market. This testbed is a necessary bridge between materials research on graphene and cellulose and research on application level for batteries.
"Now we can investigate the material at the application level and see what it can deliver in the battery research that is ongoing at Mid Sweden University, and also see if it is suitable for other products," says Nicklas Blomquist.
Challenge to get the right consistency
For him and his research colleagues, the big challenge has been to develop a water-based graphene composite with a consistency that can be coated on paper in a thick layer to obtain an electrically conductive layer with the right structure. At the same time, there has been a search for just the right kind of paper with enough wet-strength and that does not wrinkle while applying the slurry of graphene composite, which was found together with the paper company Mondi Dynäs. In the meantime, UMV Coating Systems has developed and adapted its coating process in several stages to enable the large-scale coating on the paper.
And now there is a test bed that is capable of coating graphene composites with the right properties on paper with a width of up to 600 mm, at speeds between 30 and 300 meters per minute.
Capable of large-scale production
"Our goal has always been that the research results should be able to be used on a large scale, and this testbed enables innovations based on graphene composites to also be suitable for large-scale production. This opens up for several different types of applications, such as batteries, contact surfaces for electronics and perhaps even antibacterial packaging, since graphene itself has proven to be antibacterial," says Nicklas Blomquist.
The project has been funded by the innovation program SIO Grafen and the project partners UMV Coating systems and Mondi Dynäs.SIO Grafen's mission is to work for graphene, and other so-called 2D materials, with properties that contribute to a more environmentally friendly energy production, energy storage and more sustainable materials, to be developed and used on an industrial scale. SIO Grafen is funded by Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas.